Runners show anyone can help those in need

By
By HOLLY MONERY

May 10, 2014, 9 a.m.

AFTER an epic journey from the Devonport Bluff to Bondi, Shane Taylor and Tim Blair finally had the chance to kick back and relax at their welcome home celebrations last night at the Devonport Surf Club.

AFTER an epic journey from the Devonport Bluff to Bondi, Shane Taylor and Tim Blair finally had the chance to kick back and relax at their welcome home celebrations last night at the Devonport Surf Club.

The pair said the evening was not just about them but the whole crew who were part of the Bluff to Bondi family.

Mr Taylor and Mr Blair arrived home in Tasmania on Wednesday after traversing on foot more than 850 kilometres of regional Australia in just eight days.

Reflecting back on the fund-raising run Mr Blair said the experience had been one hell of an adventure.

"There was a lot of weird stuff, a lot of soul searching and times where you had to challenge yourself," he said.

"The whole thing is mental, very little of it is physical."

Mr Taylor said his memory is still foggy trying to determine what happened and where during their endless days on the road.

"We didn't know what to expect, it was all uncharted," he said.

Mr Blair said the attention of the national press during their journey was sometimes a struggle but the publicity for the Kids Cancer Project was their main aim.

"I was told the other day that someone read it every day in the paper and got to do the journey with us," Mr Blair said.

"It was fairly humbling to know that people were keen to read about it and see how we were tracking."

Mr Taylor and Mr Blair agreed it was time to have a rest and recuperate before they begin their next challenge.

"People will be sick of us," Mr Taylor said laughing.

Above all else both men continually praised the tirelessly work their families and support crew put into making the run possible and to the members of the community who donated to the cause.

Mr Blair said if he has learnt anything it is that doing things like Bluff to Bondi motivates others."You don't have to be a Bill Gates or someone to help people, you can just be like Shane and I," he said.

Fund-raising runners Tim Blair (left) and Shane Taylor at the Devonport Surf Club where it all began. Picture: Stuart Wilson.